Footwear

UBS cut its price target on Nike to $42 from $48, maintaining a Neutral rating as analyst Jay Sole said channel checks show the company's global sales growth trend has worsened over the past three months. UBS expects Nike to miss fiscal first-quarter 2027 earnings estimates by about 5 cents per share and to guide fiscal second-quarter EPS to roughly 31 cents to 43 cents, well below the Street's 53-cent estimate. The firm also sees a risk that Nike uses the upcoming earnings report to lower fiscal 2027 expectations ahead of its November investor day, and it believes investors remain too optimistic about the magnitude of potential earnings revisions. Options markets are pricing in an approximately 8% move around the event, compared with Nike's historical average move of about 6.7%. Nike recently traded around $35.78, just above its 52-week low of $35.76, and the stock has fallen roughly 49% over the past year, with Morgan Stanley, BMO and UBS all highlighting downside risks.

Nike shareholders rejected a proposal urging greater transparency on how the company plans to meet its 2030 emissions-reduction targets, despite support from Norway's sovereign wealth fund, Nike's 11th-largest shareholder. The board had urged a "no" vote, arguing management is "best positioned to determine the targets and related disclosures that are appropriate." Shareholders separately approved the company's executive compensation proposal, including more than $36 million in total compensation for CEO Elliott Hill for fiscal 2026, a vote that had faced opposition from Norway's wealth fund and major proxy advisers. Nike reported an 11% reduction in supply-chain emissions from its 2015 baseline in fiscal 2024, while its 2030 targets call for a 65% reduction in operational emissions and a 30% reduction across its supply chain. Shares have fallen around 40% in 2026 as the company deals with slumping sales and skepticism over Hill's turnaround nearly two years into his tenure.

UBS has warned of a negative catalyst ahead for Nike, saying in a note Thursday that the sportswear giant's first-quarter results are likely to bring weak guidance and downward earnings revisions. Analyst Jay Sole forecast a 5-cent miss on first-quarter earnings and an implied second-quarter outlook of 31 to 43 cents, below the Street's 53-cent estimate, and said he expects Nike's stock price to fall due to weak guidance. Sole added that UBS's channel checks suggest Nike's global sales growth has deteriorated over the past three months, with pressure across U.S. and European direct-to-consumer sales, the European wholesale channel and China, alongside elevated promotions. He said the market still underestimates the magnitude of the coming downward EPS revisions, noting short interest recently hit a five-year peak and the shares trade at 21 times forward earnings versus a 34 times five-year average. UBS lowered its price target 13% to $42 but kept a Neutral rating on the shares, and Sole said Nike's stock would likely fall if the company guides to fiscal 2027 earnings below the buyside consensus of around $1.55, with UBS's own estimate at $1.30 and the options market pricing a move of about 8% around the event.

PUMA Chief Commercial Officer Matthias Baeumer has chosen to leave the Management Board for personal reasons, with CEO Arthur Hoeld temporarily taking direct control of the sales organisation. The leadership change comes as PUMA shares trade at €22.36, down 12.76% over 30 days and 20.77% over 90 days, with a 5 year total shareholder return down 76.11%. The most followed valuation narrative pegs fair value at €29.36, implying the stock is 24% undervalued, hinging on whether PUMA's reset away from mass merchants and its China partnership can lift gross margin and EBIT. That reset has already been linked to currency adjusted sales declines and inventories of around €2.1b, so slower cleanup or weaker sell through could challenge the bullish case.

China's leather shoe industry continues to contract. Leading company Aokang International has posted losses for four consecutive years from 2022 to 2025, with cumulative losses exceeding 900 million yuan, and its nationwide physical store count has fallen by nearly 800 over the past four years. According to the China Leather Industry Association, national leather shoe output dropped from about 4.62 billion pairs in 2015 to 3.54 billion pairs in 2020, and the Huajing Industry Research Institute forecasts a further decline to 1.7 billion pairs by 2026, a contraction of more than 60% over the decade. Leather shoes' share of the finished footwear market also plunged from 41.7% in 2015 to 15.3% in 2025. By the end of the first half of 2026, Aokang International's physical store total had fallen to 1,757, a net decrease of 79 stores in six months. Revenue for the period was 769 million yuan, down 28.88% year on year, and net profit attributable to the parent company was 17.57 million yuan. Although this ended four straight years of losses, net profit after deducting non-recurring items remained a loss of 6.61 million yuan. Red Dragonfly posted a net loss attributable to the parent company of 70.34 million yuan in 2024, with the loss widening to 140 million yuan in 2025, and closed 181 stores for the year. Fuguiniao, once known as China's genuine leather shoe king, declared bankruptcy in 2019 and was delisted from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Under pressure, Aokang International is advancing its positioning as a more comfortable footwear expert and cutting expenses, with selling expenses down 32.82% year on year in the first half of 2026. Red Dragonfly has signed Chen Feiyu as a brand ambassador, launched intangible cultural heritage collaboration collections, and applied an AI design system, achieving a net profit attributable to the parent company of 8.95 million yuan in the first half of 2026 and returning to profitability.

Nike sent an internal memo to executives clarifying that the company remains a member of the S&P 500, after its impending removal from the smaller S&P 100 index generated confusion, according to Bloomberg. The memo, reviewed by Bloomberg and distributed by Nike's investor relations and communications team, said the change does not affect the company's business, strategy, operations, or public listing, and Nike declined to comment. S&P Dow Jones Indices announced last week that Nike will be removed from the S&P 100 effective Sept. 21, along with Honeywell Aerospace, Simon Property Group, and Colgate-Palmolive, with Dell Technologies, Palo Alto Networks, Arista Networks, and Sandisk taking their places; Nike had been an S&P 100 member since the end of 2008. Nike stock has dropped over 40% in 2026 and is tracking toward a fifth consecutive yearly loss, with a market capitalization of roughly $55 billion to $57 billion, a fraction of its peak near $264 billion to $281 billion in November 2021. The decline reflects a prolonged deterioration in the underlying business: Nike posted $46.4 billion in fiscal 2026 revenue, a 2% drop on a currency-neutral basis, warned sales would keep falling through the first half of fiscal 2027, and saw Greater China quarterly revenue shrink 17% in constant-currency terms in its most recent fiscal period. For passive funds tracking the S&P 100, the change will trigger buying and selling, with Nike's position in the iShares S&P 100 ETF valued at roughly $19 million, a small fraction of the more than $700 million exposure carried by the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF.

S&P Dow Jones Indices is removing Nike from the S&P 100 after an 18-year streak, effective Sept. 21, as the sportswear maker's shares have fallen nearly 80% from a 2021 peak of about $179 to a fresh 52-week low of $36.85 this year, a market-cap loss of over $200 billion. Nike will be replaced in the index of the leading 100 U.S. companies by AI-linked names including SanDisk, Palo Alto Networks, Dell Technologies and Arista Networks, alongside fellow departures Colgate-Palmolive, Honeywell Aerospace and Simon Property Group, though the Beaverton-based brand remains in the S&P 500. In its fiscal year 2026 fourth-quarter report, Nike Direct revenue fell 8% on a currency-neutral basis, with Nike Brand Digital down 12% and Nike-owned stores down 4%, while direct-to-consumer revenue slid from a peak of about $21 billion in 2024 to $17.7 billion in 2026. Greater China sales fell 13% year over year for fiscal 2026 even as the country's athletic apparel market grew 51% between 2020 and 2025 to $85 billion last year, and Converse sales plunged 32% over the past 12 months on a currency-neutral basis. CEO Elliott Hill told investors the company remains encouraged by progress in performance product and is focused on consistent execution, improved profitability and scaling its wins, while Needham analyst Tom Nikic sees the stock climbing to $75 if the turnaround succeeds.

S&P Dow Jones Indices announced the removal of Nike from the S&P 100 index during its quarterly rebalancing, effective before the market opens on September 21, 2026. This marks the first time Nike has been excluded from the group of 100 largest U.S. companies since 2008, following a nearly 80% decline in its share price from the 2021 peak, with shares now trading at an average of $38.40. Nike's spot has been taken over by technology stocks such as Dell Technologies, Palo Alto Networks, and Arista Networks. The rebalancing also includes the removal of Honeywell Aerospace, Simon Property Group, and Colgate-Palmolive, with four companies added, all in the Information Technology sector: Dell Technologies, Palo Alto Networks, Arista Networks, and Sandisk, according to the GICS industry classification. Nike remains in the S&P 500 index as usual. This adjustment reflects the increased weight of the technology sector in the S&P 100, which stood at 43.8% as of August 31, 2026, compared to the Consumer Discretionary sector, where Nike belongs, at just 9.6%. Nike's stock closed on September 3, 2026, at $38.77, compared to its intraday high of $179.10 in November 2021, representing a 78% decline. Meanwhile, JPMorgan has downgraded its recommendation to Underweight, and the market is watching the Capital Markets Day in November 2026 for strategic plans. Analysts estimate that a recovery in profit margins and the launch of new product lines may have to wait until 2027.

Nike and Simon Property Group will be removed from the S&P 100 Index on September 21, following a quarterly rebalancing. Nike, which joined the index in December 2008, has seen its stock decline 78 percent, shrinking its market capitalization below the index's typical range. Simon Property, the largest U.S. mall operator, is also leaving after a year of leadership changes and store closures. Additionally, Capri Holdings, owner of Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo, will move from the S&P MidCap 400 to the S&P SmallCap 600 Index on the same date.

NIKE is undertaking an inventory cleanup to clear older and slower-moving products, aiming to create a healthier marketplace and improve profitability over time. The company is tightening inventory purchases, reducing future sell-in, and adjusting wholesale order books in response to weak demand in Sportswear and Jordan Streetwear. In EMEA, NIKE sharply reduced promotional activity, resulting in a more than 50% decline in its off-price business and a 15-point improvement in full-price realization. NIKE anticipates fiscal 2027 revenues to decline in the low- to mid-single-digit range as it prioritizes healthier inventory levels, but expects supply-chain and cost actions taken in fiscal 2026 to contribute to margin expansion in fiscal 2027. Shares of NIKE have lost 35.4% in the past six months, and the company trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 20.64X, compared with the industry's average of 18.38X.

*ST Qibu released its 2026 interim report. As of June 30, net profit attributable to the parent company was negative 42.71 million yuan, a loss increase of 5.58 million yuan compared with the same period last year. Total operating revenue was 604 million yuan, and net cash outflow from operating activities was 45.9 million yuan, an increase in outflow of 19.07 million yuan year on year. The asset-liability ratio rose to 91.56%, gross margin fell to 5.64%, return on equity was negative 100.61%, and diluted earnings per share was negative 0.07 yuan. The company had 9,598 shareholders, and the top ten shareholders held 42.37% of total share capital.

*ST Qibu released its 2026 interim report, showing a first-half net loss that widened to 42.71 million yuan, compared with a loss of 37.14 million yuan in the same period last year. Operating revenue was 604 million yuan, up 603.6 percent year on year. Net loss attributable to the parent after deducting non-recurring items was 48.94 million yuan, narrowing from a loss of 60.99 million yuan a year earlier. Net operating cash flow was negative 45.9 million yuan, down 71.1 percent year on year. In the second quarter, operating revenue was 345 million yuan, up 1,368.9 percent year on year, while net loss attributable to the parent was 13.51 million yuan, narrowing from a loss of 35.16 million yuan in the same period last year. As of the end of the second quarter, total assets stood at 824 million yuan, down 4.3 percent from the end of the previous year. Net assets attributable to the parent were 42.45 million yuan, down 50.2 percent from the end of the previous year. The company said its business operations have not undergone major changes and remain focused on children's clothing and footwear as well as aluminum processing. In the aluminum processing segment, the company acquired an 80 percent stake in Foshan Pengchang Enterprise Management Company Limited through a gratuitous transfer, forming a dual-core business structure.

Red Dragonfly released its 2026 interim report on August 28, 2026, showing total operating revenue of RMB 1.022 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 0.14%. Net profit attributable to the parent company was RMB 8.952 million, ranking 35th among peer companies. Net cash inflow from operating activities was RMB 18.4572 million, down 83.81% year-on-year. The company's asset-liability ratio was 25.07%, gross margin was 40.58%, return on equity was 0.37%, and diluted earnings per share was RMB 0.02. The number of shareholders was 16,500, and the top ten shareholders held 67.69% of the total share capital.

Topscore Fashion released its 2026 interim report on August 22, 2026, with net profit attributable to the parent company of 27.9753 million yuan. The company's total operating revenue was 511 million yuan, down 3.06 percent from the same period last year, a decrease of 16.1174 million yuan. Net cash inflow from operating activities was 49.1932 million yuan, down 42.90 percent year on year. The company's latest asset-liability ratio was 18.79 percent, gross margin was 68.39 percent, return on equity was 2.36 percent, and diluted earnings per share was 0.07 yuan.

Leggett & Platt announced on Thursday that shareholders approved its merger with Somnigroup International. The deal still requires one remaining regulatory approval, and the company expects the transaction to close once that approval and other closing conditions are satisfied. On the market side, Leggett & Platt stock traded 2.38% lower at about $9.46, while Somnigroup International stock traded 1.58% lower at about $64.83.

Nike is facing a major business storm after its share price fell around 78% from its late 2021 peak and hit a 12-year low earlier this week, wiping more than 200 billion dollars off its market value before rebounding 2.47% on Wednesday, August 19. Elliott Hill, Nike's CEO, admitted in an internal meeting that he was tired of talking about fixing problems and could not pretend everything was going well. Revenue from Greater China, which includes China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, fell 12% in the latest quarter, while JPMorgan downgraded Nike from Neutral to Underweight, warning that the Win Now plan would keep pressuring earnings through fiscal 2028. Bernstein maintained its Buy rating with a 68 dollar price target, implying upside of about 70% from current levels.